Hazardous Materials

The Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management website offers a comprehensive, user-friendly, web-based resource that is also downloadable in advance, so that it would be available during an event if the internet is not accessible.

This resource was developed to enable first responders, first receivers, other healthcare providers, and planners to plan for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of mass-casualty incidents involving chemicals.

• Visit the Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management website

Informational resources on Chemical Emergencies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• Preparation & Planning for Chemical Emergencies
• Toxic Syndrome Descriptions for Chemical Agents

Healthcare workers risk occupational exposures to chemical, biological, or radiological materials when a hospital receives contaminated patients, particularly during mass casualty incidents.

These hospital employees, who may be termed first receivers, work at a site remote from the location where the hazardous substance release occurred.This means that their exposures are limited to the substances transported to the hospital on victims’ skin, hair, clothing, or personal effects (Horton et al., 2003).

The location and limited source of contaminant distinguishes first receivers from other first responders (e.g., firefighters, law enforcement, and ambulance service personnel), who typically respond to the incident site (i.e., the Release Zone).

• Download "Best Practices for Hospital Based First Receivers of Victims"

Does your hospital's emergency management plan address Hazard Material Spills?